Tourism has always been a major social phenomenon of any
society. It is motivated by the natural urge of every human being for
new experience, adventure, education, knowledge and entertainment. In
order to understand each other's cultures and values as well as to cater
several other social, religious and business interests, it has resulted
in development of many tourist and infrastructure facilities. This, along
with the progress of proper transportation network globally, especially
of airways and waterways, has encouraged people to venture out to the
foreign lands. It has facilitated the trade and commerce between the different
regions of a country and between the different countries. As a result,
over the years, it has acquired the status of a service industry.

Tourism, being one of the largest industry, plays a key
role in achieving the socio-economic goals of the development plans of
a nation. It is an important service-oriented sector which has made rapid
strides globally in terms of gross revenue and foreign exchange earnings.
It is a composite of service providers, both public and private, which
includes travel agents and tour operators; air, rail and sea transportation
operators; guides; owners of hotels, guest houses and inns, restaurants
and shops; etc. They are involved in meeting the diverse interests and
requirements of domestic and international tourists. The tourism industry
provides incentives to foster the quality of environment, generates more
employment opportunities (particularly in remote and backward areas) as
well as develops necessary infrastructure facilities like roads, telecom
and medical services, in the economy.

In India, tourism industry holds special position as it
not only have potential to grow at a high rate, but also stimulate other
economic sectors through its backward and forward linkages and cross-sectional
synergies with sectors like agriculture, horticulture, poultry, handicrafts,
transport, construction, etc. That is, it can provide impetus to other
industries in the country and generate enough wealth to help pay off the
international debt. It is the third largest net earner of foreign exchange
for the country. The travel and tourism sector contributes to the national
integration; preserves natural and cultural environments; as well as enriches
social and cultural lives of the people. It has the capacity to create
substantial job opportunities, particularly for unskilled and semi-skilled
workers as well as to alleviate the poverty in the country. That's why,
it has been regarded as the core sectors of the Indian economy.

Given India's unique endowments of biodiversity, forests,
rivers, mountains, historical places, temples and pilgrims, caves, museums,
monuments and culture, the industry holds immense strength for obtaining
higher growth rate. The challenges in the sector lie in successfully preserving
these in their original form, and making them accessible to domestic and
international travellers. India offers various categories of tourism products,
such as adventure tourism; medical tourism (ayurveda and other forms of
Indian medications), eco-tourism; rural tourism; cruise tourism; meetings,
incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) tourism; etc.

The Ministry
of Tourism acts as the nodal agency for the development and promotion
of tourism in the country. It plays a crucial role in formulating national
policies and programmes as well as coordinating and supplementing the
efforts of the State/Union Territory Governments and private sector in
improving the quality of tourism infrastructure. It catalyses private
investment, strengthens promotional and marketing efforts and helps in
providing trained manpower resources. As regards the domestic market,
the Ministry aims to popularise the culture and natural beauty of different
regions, pilgrim sites and various new tourism products. The Ministry
has a public sector undertaking, namely the 'India
Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC)' for carrying out its various
functions, along with the following autonomous institutions:-

The Ministry has been undertaking several policy measures
and incentives so as to boost growth of the sector and attract the investors
the world over. The most important being the National
Tourism Policy (formulated in the year 2002), which aims to develop
tourism in India in a systematic manner. It envisages a framework, within
which the Government helps to create the basic infrastructure and legislative
set up for tourism development, while the private sector helps to provide
the quality products and offer active support services. The broad objectives
of the policy are to:-

Position tourism as a major engine of economic growth;

Harness the direct and multiplier effects of tourism
for employment generation, economic development and providing impetus
to rural tourism;

Focus on domestic tourism as a major driver of tourism
growth;

Position India as a global brand to take advantage of
the burgeoning global travel trade and the vast untapped potential of
India as a destination;

Acknowledge the critical role of private sector with
Government working as a pro-active facilitator and catalyst;

Create and develop integrated tourism circuits based
on Indias unique civilization, heritage and culture in partnership
with States, private sector and other agencies; and

Besides, the Ministry has been running a scheme of giving
'National
Tourism Awards' to various segments of the travel and tourism industry
every year. These awards are presented to State Governments, classified
hotels, heritage hotels, approved travel agents, tour operators and tourist
transport operators, individuals and other private organizations in recognition
of their performances in their respective fields. For instance, awards
for best adventure tour operator, best domestic tour operator, most innovative
tour operator, best MICE operator, best tourist transport operator, best
hotels in the different categories, etc. Awards are also given to the
meritorious students of the Institutes of Hotel Management as well as
Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management. The selection of the
awardees have been made by the Committees constituted for the purpose.
The decision of the Ministry is final and binding.

There has been a remarkable growth, in the recent years, in foreign tourist arrivals to India due to the various efforts made by the Ministry, including promoting India through the 'Incredible lndia' campaign in overseas markets. Incredible India is a multi-pronged promotional campaign launched by the Ministry in order to position the country as a preferred tourist destination for the travellers the world over. As a result of all such efforts, India's share in international tourist arrivals, which was 0.46 per cent in 2004 has increased to 0.49 per cent during 2005; and further to an estimated 0.52 per cent in 2006 and 0.55 per cent in 2007. The foreign tourist arrivals has increased from a level of 3.46 million in 2004 to an estimated 5 million in 2007. Similarly, the foreign exchange earnings from tourism have also shown a phenomenal growth from US$ 6.17 billion (Rs. 27944 crore) in 2004 to an estimated US$ 11.96 billion (Rs. 49413 crore) in 2007. The share of India in world earnings from tourism registered an increase from 0.98 per cent in 2004 to 1.21 per cent in 2006. The number of domestic tourists in India have also grown phenomenally over this period, that is, from 366.23 million in 2004 to an estimated 462 million in 2006.

To give recognition to tourism as a source of income and
employment generator in the economy, a 'Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA)'
has been developed. TSA enables the Ministry to quantify the benefits
of tourism in terms of contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and
employment (both direct and indirect impacts). India is among the few
countries in the world to develop TSA. As per the TSA study, the contribution
of tourism in GDP of the country has been 5.90 per cent in 2003-04, while
employment in tourism sector (both direct and indirect) has been 41.8
million in the same year, thus accounting for 8.78 per cent of total employment
in the country.

'World Travel
and Tourism Council (WTTC)' is the forum for business leaders in the travel and tourism industry. It addresses challenges and opportunities that affect all sectors of the industry globally. It works to raise awareness of travel and tourism as one of the world's largest industries, employing approximately 231 million people and generating over 10.4 per cent of world GDP. It is firmly committed to realizing Indian tourism industry's potential for growth and ensuring maximum and sustainable benefits for everyone involved. According to the WTTC, tourism accounted for 9.9 per cent of global GDP, 11.0 per cent of the total world exports and 8.4 per cent of global employment in the year 2008.

Thus, Indian travel and tourism industry has been on rise
and is gaining popularity amongst travellers all over the world. It is
an engine of growth for Indian economy and helps to promote sustained
development of infrastructure, such as airports, railways and roads, leading
to connectivity of various tourist destinations. Besides, improvement
and expansion of existing and new tourism products such as cultural and
heritage tourism, rural tourism, adventure tourism, health and healing
tourism, etc; promotion of 'Incredible India' campaigns; as well as active
participation of State Governments therein establishes India's competitive
advantage in the sector. This has enhanced the foreign exchange earnings
of the country as well as improved its trade relations with other nations.
All such measures and incentives, undertaken by public and private sectors,
are a source of several investment opportunities in the industry.